National News

Want to meet the pope? Mingle with Rome’s homeless and he might just come to you.

It is a well-known fact that, while he was archbishop of Buenos Aires, Pope Francis would venture out after hours to minister to the city’s poor. While that practice is now notably more difficult given his position, according to comments make recently by a Vatican official, he may in fact still be leaving the papal apartments for the occasional nighttime adventure, dressed in costume to hide his identity.

And now it appears we have confirmation. A Vatican source reportedly told The Huffington Post this week: “Swiss guards confirmed that the pope has ventured out at night, dressed as a regular priest, to meet with homeless men and women.”

Even Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, a key lieutenant who is in charge of distributing aid from the Vatican to the city’s poor, has addressed the speculation, saying: “When I say to him ‘I’m going out into the city this evening,’ there’s the constant risk that he will come with me.”

Also once worked as a bouncer

It wouldn’t be the first time Pope Francis surprised the world with his approach to the papacy. Not even the first time this week, in fact.

During a trip to a Rome-area church on Sunday, he revealed that he had once worked as a bouncer at a nightclub before turning his attention to the church. That’s in addition to his time as a janitor and laboratory assistant.

Prior to these revelations, the pope made waves in November when he addressed the topic of same-sex marriage saying “who am I to judge a gay person?” in response to a question posed by reporters. Francis later said he believes the church has become “obsessed” with the issues of abortion and gay marriage, called global capitalism “a new tyranny,” and even reached out to atheists.